The sophistication and volume of cyber-attacks and data breaches is growing at an alarming rate. As cybercrime has emerged as a $445 billion problem globally, printers, PCs and other IoT endpoints have become the frontline of this cybersecurity battleground. In fact, just last month Microsoft caught state-sponsored hackers using IoT devices, including printers, to breach networks. Once they established access, they were able to uncover other under-secured devices and move across the network seeking higher-value data.
These types of security breaches can be detrimental to a company and its customers. As the head of HP's Office Printing Solutions business, it has become my personal mission to ensure our customers are protected from these complicated yet avoidable risks.
Security is at the heart of everything we do at HP. Over the years, we have helped grow the security community by engaging with academics, industry partners and government experts alike. We have brought ex-hackers together to stay one step ahead of the evolving threat landscape. And we have launched programs (e.g., bug bounty programs) to help make meaningful progress in securing the future of computing and printing for our customers.
Today marks another important step in demonstrating our support for the standardization of device testing. We are proud to announce that HP has committed to participate in the Keypoint Intelligence-Buyers Lab Security Validation Testing program. Keypoint Intelligence is the first print industry analyst firm to define a clear set of security standards for connected MFPs and printers and then partner with accredited testing firms to test those standards.
Our decision to engage in this testing program is driven by our desire to help raise the bar for the entire industry. We believe more can and should be done to mitigate security risks. Our customers are navigating a confusing landscape. Without independent standards, our customers are left with the burden of comparing products and deciphering a complex web of security features and software that may or may not suit their unique needs. This is an important step in driving more stringent industry standards for IoT devices, like printers, and pushing our industry to a higher standard.
The Keypoint Intelligence-Buyers Lab Security Validation Testing program includes three distinct seals that address the following security vectors: device penetration, policy compliance and firmware resilience. As an inaugural participant, HP is pleased to be one of the first OEMs to have passed the first round of testing and earned the Security Validation Testing seal for Device Penetration for its HP Futuresmart v4 Enterprise firmware platform. To achieve this first seal, certified security experts used a combination of automated tools and manual exploitation attempts to probe for potential vulnerabilities in our device firmware/OS, ports, print protocols, embedded web page, connectivity avenues, and more.
Given the current cybersecurity landscape, it's critical that as an industry we do more. We encourage our industry counterparts to join in this effort. It will give our customers third-party unbiased information about products and help in their challenge to evaluate security features. It will also drive our industry to a higher standard overall, which benefits everyone.
For more information about the Keypoint Intelligence Security Validation Testing program, please see this their recent announcement [hyperlink when live] introducing the program.